The Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago Cubs meet in the finale of their four game set in MLB action from Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon.

The Philadelphia Phillies will look to rebound and earn a series split after dropping game three on Wednesday by an 8-4 count. Andrew McCutchen went 3 for 5 with a solo home run and a double while Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and Cesar Hernandez each had an RBI with Realmuto going 2 for 5 with a double. Bryce Harper went 3 for 5 at the dish and Jean Segura had a pair of hits while Cole Irvin added a base hit of his own in the losing effort for the Phils. Irvin took the loss on the mound after allowing seven runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out six over 4.2 innings of work. Aaron Nola will start the finale and is 4-0 with a 4.47 ERA and 60 strikeouts this season. In his career, Nola is 1-1 with a 5.12 ERA and 23 strikeouts against the Cubs.

The Chicago Cubs will look to win the series after taking game three on Wednesday. All of Chicago’s damage on the board came via the long ball, as Albert Almora Jr. launched a grand slam while Anthony Rizzo had a three run homer and Javier Baez added a solo shot. Kyle Schwarber and Kris Bryant each went 2 for 4 with a double while David Bote added a base hit as well in the win for the Cubbies. Cole Hamels gave up three runs on nine hits while striking out six over four innings of work, not factoring in the decision. Tyler Chatwood picked up the win to improve to 3-0 after tossing four solid innings of relief. Jon Lester will start game three and is 3-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 42 strikeouts this season. In his career, Lester is 8-0 with a 1.49 ERA and 65 strikeouts against Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is 4-0 in Nola’s last 4 starts and 1-5 in their last 6 Thursday games while the over is 5-0 in Nola’s last 5 starts against the NL Central. Chicago is 39-14 in Lester’s last 53 home starts and 23-9 in their last 32 games overall while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 home games. Chicago is 4-0 in Lester’s last 4 starts against Philadelphia.

It’s hard to go against Nola, as despite the bloated ERA, the Phillies’ ace has given up one earned in four of his last five starts. However, while Lester got bumped around in his last start, he has allowed just one earned run at home this season, carrying a 0.46 home ERA coming into this game and has not lost to the Phillies in his career with a sparkling ERA at that. The Cubs have stepped it up in the last couple of games, so I’ll side with Chicago for the series victory behind Lester at home.

Chris has been a sports fan from when he was old enough to pick up a basketball and was a standout offensive lineman throughout high school and college. Chris uses that same instinct, determination and drive to analyze trends and statistics to find and produce winners on a consistent basis. Chris has been writing for Sports Chat Place since 2016 and covers a wide array of sports from college and pro football, college basketball, hockey and baseball.

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